Hiram Powers, one of the pre-eminent Neoclassical American sculptors of the 19th century, was born in Woodstock, Vt., and moved to Cincinnati in 1819.

Earning his first recognition in Cincinnati as a mechanic and inventor, he began sculpting in 1828 when he modeled lifesize wax figures for tableaux from Dante's Inferno. By 1830 he was undeniably one of the most popular U.S. sculptors.

In 1834 he accepted the patronage of Cincinnati businessman Nicholas Longworth to work in Italy, but stopped first in Washington, D.C. He received so many commissions from prominent statesmen that he set up a studio in the basement of the Capitol.

He sculpted likenesses of George Washington, John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster and Andrew Jackson - some say with a disturbing naturalism.

But as with other Neoclassicists, he looked to Europe for inspiration and in 1837 moved his family to Florence, Italy, hoping for greater access to marble and well-trained Italian workmen.

He never left, but continued to ship work back to his home country including his most well known piece, "The Greek Slave (1848)."

The statue, first cast in bronze in 1845 and later made in several marble examples, is of a nude and shapely woman with her hands in chains. Her cool classical styling suffused with an erotic frisson drew large crowds and increasing controversy as she toured the United States.

As a result, Powers not only made money, but became a celebrity. A version of the statue was shown in Cincinnati from October 1848 to January 1849 and received even greater opposition than in other U.S. cities. However, proceeds from this one engagement totaled more than $2,000.